Buying a road bike - need advice

[myarider]

Hello, my name is mya, I've been reading this forum for several weeks, I'm really enjoying the intelligent discussions. I need advice on buying a road bike. I've narrowed my choices down to either a a Specialized Ruby Comp or a Ruby Expert. I've been riding for several years with my Trek Hybrid, which I still love and will continue to ride alongside my husband with his hybrid. My main reason for wanting to purchase a road bike is to do longer rides, maybe do some organized tours. No racing for me. So my questions are: Does the quality of the Expert justify its $1000 increase in cost? Is it too much bike for what I need? Will the Comp be perfectly adequate? The store I'm dealing with can get a 2008 in either of these bikes (at 2008 prices!!!), but will only order in one of them (they don't want to get stuck with the other one). I'm espcially hoping to hear from anyone who owns one of these bikes, who can give me the pros and cons. P.S. The warehouse is holding the bikes until tomorrow, so I have to let them know my decision ASAP.

[ilima]

They both have carbon frames, although from the website it looks like it's different types of carbon. Probably little difference between the two types of carbon, though.

The Comp has 105 components, which are very good. Yeah, Ultegra is a bit better, but 105 is very nice. The wheels on the Comp are really, really cheap. I'd much rather have a better wheelset than upgrade from 105 to Ultegra.

If you're money is burning a whole in your pocket see if your shop will credit you $200 for the wheels and then buy a better wheelset, something akin to Ksyrium SLs or the Elites for a bit less money. One thing I like about the Ksyriums (both Elite & SL) is that you don't have to use rim tape. Saves weight and less material to possibly cause a flat.

[myarider]

thank-you ilima

I will ask about the wheelset. When you say Elite tires, do you mean the Ruby Elite, or is Elite a brand of tire? The salesperson (who seemed like a great guy) said this wheelset is much better than the one on the Ruby Elite (hence the bigger pricetag).

[ilima]

thank-you ilima

I will ask about the wheelset. When you say Elite tires, do you mean the Ruby Elite, or is Elite a brand of tire? The salesperson (who seemed like a great guy) said this wheelset is much better than the one on the Ruby Elite (hence the bigger pricetag).

Mavic Ksyrium Elite wheelset or something comparable. Mavic is a big manufacturer of wheels.

[SouthernBelle]

Are you looking to do loaded touring? If so, you would normally want a frame with braze-ons to attach a rack or trailer. Carbon frames don't normally have that.

There are ways around that, but most folks don't seem to use carbon for loaded touring.